Do I need valid visa to work or is valid EAD enough

[asdfgmxit 0]

My L2 visa is expiring 15 Jan 2022 but my EAD and I94  is valid until 15 Dec 2022. Can I continue to work uninterrupted beyond 15 Jan 2022? Is it enough to have EAD to continue to work even though my visa is expired?

[Dashinka 24,657]

I don’t think so unless you have a pending visa extension or AOS filed.  If the L2 visa expires, you no longer have valid authorized stay in the US.

[jan22 3,056]

Once admitted into the US, it doesn't matter if your visa expires. A US visa's purpose is to allow you to go to tbe US and "knock on the door" and ask for it to be open and let you in.  Once the door has opened and the immigration officer has let you in, it Is your I-94 that determines how long you can stay. 

 

You can work as long as your I-94 is valid -- as long as you have a valid EAD and the L1 on which your L2 is dependent remains in L1 status.  If you leave the US you will not be able to re-enter, however, without getting a new visa.

[Bajinga 136]

status of the visa does not matter once you are inside the US, you will only need a new L2 Visa stamp to enter back into the US if you travelled outside. you can work until the EAD expires as long as your spouse is still employed on L1. 

[Verrou 1,962]

9 hours ago, asdfgmxit said:

My L2 visa is expiring 15 Jan 2022 but my EAD and I94  is valid until 15 Dec 2022. Can I continue to work uninterrupted beyond 15 Jan 2022? Is it enough to have EAD to continue to work even though my visa is expired?

you can only work until EAD expiry date

[arken 4,197]

9 hours ago, asdfgmxit said:

Can I continue to work uninterrupted beyond 15 Jan 2022? Is it enough to have EAD to continue to work even though my visa is expired?

Yes to both.

[Dashinka 24,657]

I assumed the OP was asking about the L2 visa no longer being valid due to the Parent L1 also expiring.  As far as I know, there is no grace period for one an L Visa expires.

[Coco8 1,042]

4 hours ago, Dashinka said:

I assumed the OP was asking about the L2 visa no longer being valid due to the Parent L1 also expiring.  As far as I know, there is no grace period for one an L Visa expires.

 

What matters is the USCIS petition, not the L1 or L2 visa. The visa is only to enter the US. The L1 petition can be extended within the US so the date on the visa stamp is meaningless. 

 

There is a grace period for the petition to gap the time between the end of the petition and the approval of the extension, as long as the petition to extend is filed before the expiration. It's 240 days. 

[Dashinka 24,657]

29 minutes ago, Coco8 said:

 

What matters is the USCIS petition, not the L1 or L2 visa. The visa is only to enter the US. The L1 petition can be extended within the US so the date on the visa stamp is meaningless. 

 

There is a grace period for the petition to gap the time between the end of the petition and the approval of the extension, as long as the petition to extend is filed before the expiration. It's 240 days. 

While I agree, what isn’t clear is what the OP was asking.  Since they already have a valid EAD, I assumed they were already in the US with their authorized stay expiring (I assume with the L1 parent).  If they were simply asking about the expiration date on the stamped visa, then it makes sense.  It almost sounded as if they were asking does the EAD extend their stay.

[Demise 1,308]

18 hours ago, asdfgmxit said:

My L2 visa is expiring 15 Jan 2022 but my EAD and I94  is valid until 15 Dec 2022. Can I continue to work uninterrupted beyond 15 Jan 2022? Is it enough to have EAD to continue to work even though my visa is expired?

Yeah.

I-94 is the document that proves your legal status until the expiration date on it.

EAD is the document that proves that you can legally work.

Visa is only necessary if you are seeking admission, there's a bunch of people out there who entered once and just kept renewing their status with USCIS and kept getting a new I-94 and the visa is in their passport has long expired.

Edited December 24, 2021 by Demise